1. Indian Air Force Bharatiya Vayu Sena Nabha Sparasham Deeptam Touching the Sky with Glory
2. 1982, the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Air force saw the inception of nine Hunter aircraft performing feats in the air. Led by Wg Cdr PS Brar, they called themselves the ‘Thunderbolts’ INDIAN AIRFORCE
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4. Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Padma Vibhushan, DFC
7. Marshal Air Chief Marshal Air Marshal Air Vice Marshal Air Commodore Group Captain Flying Officer Pilot Officer
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9. Unmanned aerial vehicles The primary role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is to provide aerial surveillance and reconnaissance. However, DRDO, ADA and HAL are developing a range of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles . The IAF currently operates IAI Malat -built Searcher MkII and Heron UAVs .
11. Aerobatics by Sarang helicopter formation display team. An important objective of the IAF is to support ground troops by providing air-cover and by transporting men and essential commodities across the battlefield.
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13. MiG-29 The aircraft is equipped with an information and fire control radar system comprising: an airborne radar N-019 developed by Phazotron Research and Production Company, Moscow; an optical locator comprising an infra-red search and track sensor, a laser rangefinder and a helmet mounted target designator.
14. Mirage 2000 has an upgraded digital Weapon Delivery and Navigation System, WDNS, which has capacity for further integration of new sensors and weapon systems..
15. Sukhoi 27/30K The aircraft is equipped with a 30 mm gun and a range of missiles, rockets, and bombs mounted externally on ten hardpoints. The aircraft's infra-red search and track system, laser rangefinder, radar, and helmet mounted target designator provide detection, tracking, and attack capability .
16. The Su-27SK is equipped with a coherent pulse Doppler radar, Phazotron N001 Zhuk, with track-while-scan and look-down/shoot-down capability. The range of the radar against targets size 3 square metres is over 100 km in the forward hemisphere and 40 kilometres in the rear hemisphere.
17. The MiG-29 is produced by the Moscow Aircraft Production Organization MiG (MAPO MiG) based in Moscow. The MiG-29,-30 and -33 are known by the NATO code name Fulcrum
18. The Indian Air Force has a strength of 1430 combat aircraft. Most of the IAF's fighter jets are of French, Soviet/Russian and British origin, with designs by the latter two countries being constructed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under licence. The indigenously-built HAL Tejas (formerly Light Combat Aircraft) is expected to enter service by 2010 .
19. Air superiority aircraft The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (MKI: 'Multifunctional Commercial - Indian') is the IAF's prime air superiority fighter . The Su-30K variant was first acquired in 1996 . In October 2004 ,
20. Multi-role combat aircraft These are aircraft for strike, offensive support, air defence and superiority purposes. The IAF currently possesses several multi-role fighter jets that perform these functions.
21. Strike, attack and offensive support aircraft Squadrons of Jaguar IS and MiG-27 aircraft serve as the IAF's primary ground strike force.
22. Reconnaissance aircraft Various unmanned aircraft are used for reconnaissance. The IAF used to operate a fleet of MiG-25 ( Foxbat ) R, U reconnaissance aircraft until 2006. The high-speed interceptor aircraft carried four R-40 (AA-6 'Acrid') air-to-air missiles , two R-23 (AA-7 'Apex') and four R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') or R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') . The MiG-25, in service since the late 1980s, were decommissioned from service in 2006.
23. Unmanned aerial vehicles The primary role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is to provide aerial surveillance and reconnaissance. However, DRDO, ADA and HAL are developing a range of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles .
24. The Indian Air Force currently operates around 300 MiG-21 aircraft.The IAF initially planned to replace the MiG-21 fleet with indigenously-built HAL Tejas aircraft by 2006 . However, the target could not be met due to developmental delays and a U.S. sanction, following the Pokhran tests , which blocked the delivery of GE F404 engines- a crucial component of the aircraft.
25. Tejas in formation flight. The Indian Air Force currently operates more than 250 MiG-21 aircraft. Due to its aging equipment, several MiG-21s used in training roles have crashed over the past six years, killing over 50 IAF pilots. Also, they are nearing the end of their service life having been in the IAF for many decades and are being decommissioned at an increasing pace.
27. The IAF will also buy 220 indigenously-built HAL Tejas light combat aircraft . It has already ordered a total of 28 Tejas aircraft. These aircraft are expected to enter service beginning in 2009 . The HAL HJT-36 Intermediate Jet Trainer carried out its maiden test flight in 2003 and is all set to enter service within the next 5 years.
